Chocolate Chunk Orange Scones

Ingredients

For the Scones

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes or I prefer to grate it--keep in freezer until ready to use

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate 

1/4 cup chopping 

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cold heavy cream

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

Instructions

Scones

Preheat oven to 425°F. LIne a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into the mixture using a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the orange zest and the chocolate.

Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add 3/4 cup of the heavy cream. Mix the dough together. It should have a slightly dry texture, but not be crumbly. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of cream if the dough seems too dry.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for 1 minute. Form the dough into a round or rectangle approximately 1 inch thick and use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into 6 equal pieces. 

Refrigerate dough at least one hour or overnight.

Arrange the pieces on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush the wedges with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are golden and the edges are lightly toasted.

Glaze

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice until smooth. Drizzle glaze on top of the warm scones.

Serve warm.

Hot Cross Buns

 

Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter staple at my house like Stollen at Christmas time.  I add candied fruit to mine. I have tried many a recipes and to date this is my favorite.

Orange Currant Hot Cross Buns

 

Makes 1 (15-inch) round

Ingredients

2¼ cups (288 grams) dried currants

1¼ cups (300 grams) warm no-pulp orange juice (180°F/82°C to 185°F/85°C)

I omit the above and instead add 3 cups candied fruit--the best quality you can find especially for the orange peel

1½ cups (360 grams) warm whole milk (105°F/40°C to 110°F/43°C)

6¾ teaspoons (21 grams) active dry yeast

¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar, divided

10 cups (1,250 grams) all-purpose flour, divided

1½ teaspoons (4.5 grams) kosher salt

1½ teaspoons (3 grams) ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon (1 gram) ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon (1 gram) ground allspice

½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted

6 tablespoons (90 grams) freshly squeezed orange juice, strained

4 large eggs (200 grams), divided

1¾ teaspoons (3.5 grams) orange zest

1 tablespoon (15 grams) whole milk

½ cup (120 grams) plus 3 tablespoons (45 grams) water

Honey-Orange Glaze (recipe below)

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine currants and warm orange juice. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding excess liquid.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine warm milk, yeast, and ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together 8 cups (1,000 grams) flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and remaining ½ cup (100 grams) sugar.

With mixer on low speed, add half of flour mixture to yeast mixture, beating just until combined. Beat in melted butter, freshly squeezed orange juice, and 3 eggs (150 grams). Transfer dough to a large bowl, and gradually add remaining flour mixture, stirring with a spatula or a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. (Because this is such a large amount of dough, you will need to incorporate ingredients in a larger bowl.) Stir in drained currants and zest.

Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes, adding up to ½ cup (63 grams) more flour as needed.(Dough should not be sticky.)

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 15-inch round pizza pan or stone with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.

Lightly punch down dough, and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, turn out dough. Divide dough into 18 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Arrange balls on prepared pan in a circular pattern, leaving little space between pieces. Cover and let stand in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until puffed and rolls are touching, about 25 minutes. (Rolls will rise to edge of pizza stone, but will not spill over during baking.)

In a small bowl, whisk together milk and remaining 1 egg (50 grams). Brush tops of rolls with egg mixture.

In a medium bowl, add 1½ cups (188 grams) flour. Add ½ cup (120 grams) water, 2 tablespoons (30 grams) at a time, stirring gently until a thick paste forms. Using a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #10 tip, pipe paste over top of buns to form a cross pattern.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Brush warm rolls with Honey-Orange Glaze.

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Honey-Orange Glaze

 

Makes ½ cup

Ingredients

½ cup (170 grams) clover honey

¼ cup (60 grams) freshly squeezed orange juice, strained

Instructions

In a small saucepan, bring honey and orange juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely.

Mariangela's Olive Oil Banana Bread

I have always turned to the banana bread recipe on the back of the Bisquick box for a quick use of overripe bananas. I found this recipe on Bay Area Bites .  She had this bread while visiting a friend in Italy. It is a very quick, simple recipe with no need of a mixer.  It is great for breakfast, snack, or dessert.


Mariangela's Olive Oil Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup yogurt
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, olive oil, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until everything is combined. Pour into a well-greased or parchment paper-lined pan (8.5″ x 8.5″ pan, bundt cake pan, skillet, or traditional loaf pan would all work).
5. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.